KNVB Shuts out FC Emmen’s Sex Toys Company Sponsorship 

FC Emmen, the Netherlands club which wanted to strike a shirt sponsorship deal with a company that makes sex toys had the plans thwarted by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB).

Emmen which played their season opening match without a sponsorship logo had agreed a deal with EasyToys for sponsorship which was shut out by the football governing board in Netherlands upon approaching it for permission.

KNVB noted that the deal was in violation of their regulations as they wrote in their statement that “It is not appropriate to display sponsorship from the sex industry on match kit.”

They added that “we must take in account that football is for both young and old.”

The club was “surprised and upset” about KNVB’s rejection but highlighted that they would review the situation.

“We will study the KNVB’s arguments and consider what to do next,” they said on their website. “In any case, we do not intend to drop a party that wants to become the main sponsor.”

The management of the erotic webshop also reacted with surprise.

“For us, the collaboration was logical,” their chief executive officer Eric Idema told Dutch media on Thursday.

“We hoped that more positive attention for our webshop would contribute to breaking the taboo that still rests around our industry. The fact that eroticism and sexuality are still uncomfortable subjects for many is evident in the decision of the KNVB.”

EasyToys have a smaller sponsorship deal with another Eredivisie club FC Groningen, displaying their name on billboards at its stadium.

According to the KNVB, permission is not required for the content of touchline advertising boards but is neccessary for shirt advertising.

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